OK chicken ladies - lets chat!

Well I can't answer most of your questions since we don't have any yet, but here are my plans; we pick them up April 6th:
What kinds? Hoping for 10 total: 3 Rhode Island Red, 3 Americauna, 2 Buff Orpington, 2 Black Australorp
How long have you had them? They'll be about 3 day old chicks
Plans for any more? 12 will be our max I think, but we'll have to see how full grown birds fit into our 5x7 shed/coop
Would you get those breeds again? Don't know.
What kind of coop do you have? We are getting a shed on wheels. It's fully vented and has a full size door on one side and 2 chicken hatches, and nesting boxes built in.
What does it look like? (Pics are always fun!)
Plans for any more?
Why did you get them and how do they fit into your lifestyle (not sure how to word it - do you have a small farm/homestead already established, are you working towards that and chickens are the starting point, were they just for a fun hobby, etc.)?  We are getting chickens because we eat 5 dozen eggs a week! This should start saving us approximately $20/mo (actually more, because our chickens will produce organic eggs which we don't currently buy because of cost). Also, we love the idea of being more self sustaining. Lawfully, we can't have more than 3 birds, but we'll be fudging that. Hope to someday get other animals but we could never get away with anything besides the chickens on our current half acre with current county statutes.

Do you currently have chickens? We currently have 17 brown egg laying hens that are 1 year old.

Do you currently have chickens? Our chicks are shipping May 7 from Meyers! Our close friends have had chickens for 2 years and we've wanted some for a long time,  happy to finally be getting them! How many? Starting with 4 this year, hoping to add more eventually What kinds? 2 Black Australorps, 1 Ameracauna, 1 Barred Rock How long have you had them? N/A Plans for any more? Hopefully! I'd love to continue trying different breeds each year and gradually grow our flock. DH wants to start small though, which will be good for now. Would you get those breeds again? Don't know yet, hoping we'll love them! What kind of coop do you have? None yet, I think DH is going to build us an A-frame tractor with scrap materials. Eventually I'd love to convert an old shed on our property into a coop. What does it look like? (Pics are always fun!) I'll definitely post pics when it's done! Why did you get them and how do they fit into your lifestyle (not sure how to word it - do you have a small farm/homestead already established, are you working towards that  and chickens are the starting point, were they just for a fun hobby, etc.)? Some day our dream is to have our own mini ranch with beef cows, chickens, our horses, etc. We are  big on self-sufficiency and want to slowly move towards producing as much of our own food as possible. Also, I think DD will really love the chickens and I think animals in general  are such a great way to teach kids about responsibility. We also just really love the taste of fresh eggs! And I think the way commercial chickens are treated is horrible. So,  we have lots of reasons!

Edited by horseymama - 03 Mar 2012 at 9:26pm

Do you currently have chickens? At the moment none but we have a few on order. 
How many? We have 4 show quality chicks ordered.
What kinds? 3- Wheaten Ameracaunas & 1-Blue Orpington
How long have you had them? N/A
Plans for any more? Won't know until they get older and we see what they are like.
Would you get those breeds again? See above answer
What kind of coop do you have? I have had lots of different types of coops in the past and have decided to try a movable coop this time. I am hoping then they won't tear up the lawn to bad and maybe they will keep the bugs down. 
What does it look like? (Pics are always fun!) Well ours is not built yet but this is what I want it to be like when we finish it. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/our-coop-adventure
The coop will be inside of a dog run that we will move somehow around the yard. Still working out the detail of that. :)
Why did you get them and how do they fit into your lifestyle (not sure how to word it - do you have a small farm/homestead already established, are you working towards that and chickens are the starting point, were they just for a fun hobby, etc.)? I have had chickens since I was 16 and have always loved them. I showed quite a bit with them in 4H and sanctioned poultry shows. Since my "chicken killing" dog has passed on it is time to get some more. I would like my boys to grow up around them and if they so choose we may get back into the show world.

I wasn't sure which thread to put this in but since Renee was hoping to condense things i thought i'd put this here.

I wish we could rotate them but we don't have that much room, especially sharing the yard with 2 other chicken coops and runs.  They'll be getting a nice sized run and i'll just have to muck it out regularly.  DH is also going to run drainage tile around it.  He did that around my current chicken run and it makes a huge difference when it rains.

We have terrible drainage here.  It's all clay and no topsoil.  Each year we expand our drainage tile some more and each following spring our yard is a bit less like a marsh.  It's not really that much work, unless you dig the trench by hand.  If you have a small backhoe or excavator it's pretty quick actually.  DH has an old Dig It and uses that for the trench, then we lay be pipe in the ground and back fill the trench.  The only really laborous part is smoothing it all out and replanting the grass, but that's just like two afternoons worth of work.  Not sure though if you're certain you will be moving if it would be worth it though?  We pretty much had to start doing it.  The horse stall was flooding every spring, my chickens area was standing water, and we had one area in our yard that would get about 6 inches deep when the snow would melt each year.  With the drainage tile put in we were able tohave a campfire a few days ago in the same place that used to be under water.